St. Brendan
Journey into the unknown…
In the 5th century, from a beautiful creek in the southwest of Ireland, the brilliant Celtic seafarers Saint Brendan and his companions, set sail into the unknown of the Atlantic, compelled by the Spirit to seek the Island of the Promised Land…
This incredible journey offers a wonderful imaginative and mythic space in which to do our inner, creative soul-work.
Brendan stepped out into the coracle and took to the waves in an act of surrendering… we will explore what we need to let go of in order to be more free. Discovering the Island of the Talking Birds and The Island of Silence, we will explore the nature of the distractive mind and find strategies from our Christian tradition about how to calm the mind and find peace in silence with God. The Island of the Strong Ones will be a rich symbol to explore what strength we need for our life journeys. Brendan and his companions unknowingly landed on the back of a sea monster, which they believed to be an island; but once they lit a fire, the whale started to move revealing its true nature; at first, they fled in terror, but eventually they returned to the whale to celebrate resurrection. Can we open our eyes to what’s going on beneath the surface of ourselves and face our fears so the very place of fear becomes a place of resurrection? And arriving at the Island of the Promised land, Brendan found exquisite gemstones and fruits on trees – what gifts is Christ offering us now for the journey?
The retreat will include various approaches such as music, discussion, stillness, prayer, in order to encounter our deeper selves and the Christ of freedom and journeying…
This one-day retreat will be led by Donna Worthington.